


Jealousy

by Imagine036



Series: Losing Sleep (and other things) [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jealous!Oliver, Romance, amused!Diggle, oblivious!Felicity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 10:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1601048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imagine036/pseuds/Imagine036
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He stared at the dark ceiling for reasons he never thought possible, turning the situation over in his mind. How on Earth did he get to this point? Was he actually... jealous?" </p>
<p>Disclaimer: Arrow isn't mine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I had a comment on the original "Losing Sleep" that they didn't like how Demons was so vastly different from Jealousy, and I realized that this site has far better options for series than ff.net does. So, from here on out, I will be posting these as separate stories connected by "Losing Sleep" as the broader series since I have that option on here. Sadly, ff.net doesn't let me do that, and I figured it was easier to have it all in one link than posting a bunch of little stories. Sorry for the confusion!

It all started when he handed her his credit card. It seemed harmless enough at the time; she said they needed the upgrade and he’d long ago given her free reign over the purchase of tech equipment. He didn’t realize how much he’d regret that simple action until later. By then, it was too late to take it back. The damage was done.

 

The first day, he assumed she was just excited about the new tech. She spent the entire night setting it up, connecting and reconnecting wires for ‘optimal performance’ and the best aesthetics. He and Digg stayed on their side of the basement, sparring and cleaning their weapons as they usually did. He didn’t really notice anything unusual, given that this was the norm on ‘New Tech Day’ as Felicity so affectionately named it.

 

It wasn’t until a week later that he really took notice of her behaviour. Usually one to head straight for her computers when she came in, he didn’t understand why it now bothered him until he realized it was because she went _straight for her computers._ Before, she would put her stuff down and swivel in the chair to face them, exchanging small talk and chit chat while she waited for the system to boot up. Now, she dropped into her chair and stared at the screen while she waited a far shorter amount of time for the screens to come to life. She spent the entire time she was in the foundry completely focused on the computer and her brand new system. It was bordering on unhealthy, really.

 

He caught her staring at the computer two weeks in and that’s when it _really_ started to get out of hand. Just one glimpse of her expression and he felt the stirrings of something long-dormant in his gut. He wasn’t even aware he was still capable of it, but there it was. It was the way her eyes sparkled as they flicked over every inch of the monitor and the way her lips turned up in a grin of triumph when searches returned results in half the time. It grated on his nerves for reasons he couldn’t quite admit to himself. It was ridiculous, really, to be feeling like that. It was a _computer_.

 

“Just a computer? You’re kidding me, right?” She asked in disbelief when he expressed that sentiment. Her eyebrows were hiked so high it was a wonder they didn’t disappear into her hairline. “Do you have any _idea_ what this is?” She waved her hand dismissively. “Clearly not.”

 

And then she launched into a very long-winded and far too complimentary explanation as to what exactly made the computer so special. He didn’t understand a word, but it was the first time they’d really spoken since she got the system so he mostly just watched her hands waving around wildly and smiled softly. He missed watching her ramble on. It had been a while since she’d gone on one of her tangents, even before the upgrade.

 

“What?” She cut herself off, head tilted, to stare questioningly at him.

 

He shook his head and pulled himself back to the present. “Nothing.”

 

She stared for a moment longer before shrugging and turning back around to face the computer once more. As the sound of her typing filled the foundry, Oliver resigned himself to having lost her once more to her digital world.

 

The trend continued into the coming weeks and Oliver found himself growing more pathetic by the day. He found any excuse to be near the computer desk, placing his hand on her shoulder and leaning too close only to be disappointed by a distinct lack of acknowledgement on Felicity’s part. She just kept on typing. He’d also doubled his workouts in the foundry without even realizing it until Diggle took it upon himself to point it out. The man was far too amused by it all. He was always smirking in Oliver’s general direction when he started stripping off his shirt to beat training dummies into submission. The smirk disappeared when Oliver beckoned for him to spar. Then he just sighed in resignation and allowed himself to be bruised and battered.

 

It was Digg’s muttered comment that made Oliver realize exactly what was going on. “I never thought I’d see the day Oliver Queen was jealous of a computer.”

 

He probably hadn’t even realized Oliver had heard, but it was enough to keep him awake at night. He stared at the dark ceiling for reasons he never thought possible, turning the situation over in his mind.

 

How on Earth did he get to this point? Was he _actually_ jealous of a… computer? No. Oliver Queen wasn’t jealous of an inanimate object. No way. He was Oliver Queen. He was just… concerned for Felicity’s sudden fascination with her computer. It was just a system upgrade; there was no reason for her to go all doe-eyed over it. She’d gotten system upgrades before and she’d never acted like this. At least, not for this long. Usually it was a couple of days, a week at the most, and then she was back to-

 

Back to what, exactly? When had he started cataloguing her behaviour surrounding her system upgrades? And what had he established as a baseline for _normal_ behaviour? Watching him on the salmon ladder?

 

There was no denying it was unusual for her to not at least glance his way when the sound of the bar clanging started in the foundry. He just didn’t think he’d noticed her attention enough to feel a loss when it was suddenly diverted. And he _was_ at a loss. Much to his chagrin, Oliver Queen was jealous of a computer. He would never live this down.

 

* * *

 

 

Knowing what it was didn’t make it any easier to deal with. If anything, it was worse. He felt like he was sixteen again, no, even younger. Maybe ten. Back when he hated that his father paid more attention to a company than him, and got upset when his mother would rather plan charity events than spend time together.

 

The difference was that now he was pushing thirty and being jealous that a computer was dominating his _friend’s_ attention was just ridiculous. Because that’s all Felicity was, right? His friend. It shouldn’t matter that she was so enamored with this computer. He shouldn’t care that there was something in the foundry she liked to look at more than him.

 

But he did. He didn’t realize how accustomed he was to looking over and seeing her quickly turn away, not wanting to be caught, until she didn’t anymore. It was stupid, but he’d grown used to the idea that Felicity would always be there, and now it was almost like she wasn’t. Obviously, she was physically there, but that _damn_ computer was taking her entire focus. He tried to talk to her, to draw her out, but she merely nodded and kept on experimenting with the new features of the system, squealing (literally _squealing_ ) with delight when she discovered something new.

 

He even tried to entice her away from the computer with a field operation. No luck. The same woman who once insisted on being included in field work actively volunteered to stay in and remotely access the hard drive they needed because, apparently, the new system had a wider range and she could be in and out in half the time. He really tried not to punch something at the look of excitement in her eyes at the prospect. Instead, he took it out on the ever-amused John Diggle.

 

* * *

 

By the end of the second month she noticed he was acting abnormally, too. With all the time she spent fawning over the computer lately he was surprised she even picked up on the strange vibes in the foundry.

 

The first time she asked if everything was good, he lied smoothly if somewhat abruptly. He knew she didn’t quite buy it, but they’d been around each other enough for her to know that he’d talk about it if and when he was ready. What she didn’t know was that he would never willingly discuss with her the strange resentment he harbored toward the computer. It was far too embarrassing.

 

She waited another week before she finally called him out on his surly behaviour. He’d tried tempering it but it was no use. Every time he spent the night convincing himself it was stupid and _just a damn computer_ , he’d watch her light up at some new function or other and his stomach would clench. Digg would barely manage to suppress a grin, and Oliver would spend the next five minutes mentally berating himself for acting like a little kid.

 

“What is going on with you?” She demanded, hands on her hips as she stared him down. “And don’t say nothing, because you’ve been acting weird lately.”

 

He stumbled around a response until he finally settled on a muttered, “Surprised you noticed.”

 

He didn’t think she’d hear him, but the way her head tilted to the side told him he wasn’t as quiet as he thought. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

Now he was screwed. Diggle let out a bark of a laugh and clapped him on the shoulder before heading upstairs, declaring that he’d let Oliver field this one on his own. He shot his partner a glare that would have stopped any civilian in their tracks. Not that Digg would have been any help in this situation. He’d just make it worse.

 

Felicity tapped her foot, still waiting for an answer. The woman was persistent.

 

He sighed and looked everywhere but at her. “I just meant… you’ve been… distracted lately. That’s all.”

 

“Distracted,” she repeated, eyebrow now raised.

 

“Yes.” He punctuated the word with a nod.

 

“By what, exactly? I’ve been here every night, doing what you need me to, haven’t I?”

 

He scuffed his toe on the floor and considered escape before catching the look in her eyes. He wasn’t getting away from this. “Can we just not do this?”

 

“What exactly is ‘this’ Oliver? Because I am massively confused here,” she admitted, taking a couple of steps forward. “Is it your sister? Laurel? Sara?”

 

“No, nothing like that.”

 

“Then what… wait a second.” She stopped abruptly and her head swivelled between him and her computer before she grinned. “Is this because of the computer?”

 

He tried to screw his face up into a look of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

 

She frowned. “Oh my God. It is. This is about the system upgrade.” He was so screwed. “Oliver, if it was too much you could have just said something. I thought you knew what- Oh God, I’m so sorry.”

 

Or not. He took two quick steps toward her, hands out in a placating fashion. “Felicity, this isn’t about the cost or anything like that.”

 

She paused in her rambling, mouth clamping shut. “Then what-”

 

He told himself it was because he couldn’t bear to keep fumbling around the subject. He was miserable with words, even worse when he was talking to someone who actually mattered. And he was just now admitting how much she mattered to him. She was so important he couldn’t bear to split her attention with an inanimate object, pathetic as it was.

 

He kissed her. He didn’t give himself time to second-guess it, just stepped forward and pressed his lips against hers.

 

She didn’t look at the computer for the rest of the night.


	2. Jealousy II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "He stopped his thoughts in their tracks. No. He was not going there. Not again. But it had also been a week since they’d been properly alone."

“Oliver…” Felicity’s voice trailed off with a growl he wasn’t sure was anger or desire.

 

“Hmm?” He mumbled, ghosting his lips up the column of her neck where he stood behind her.

 

They were in front of the larger, independent touch-screen monitor in the foundry where Felicity was trying to organize a timeline for a recent string of bank robberies. Needless to say, Oliver wasn’t very interested in constructing a timeline. He lightly pulled her hair to the opposite side, securing it over her shoulder to give better access. She leaned back into his chest of her own accord, sighing. He could feel her fighting her instinct to just give in and grinned while trailing his fingers gently down her arm. Goosebumps followed the trail he made while he wrapped his left arm around her stomach, pulling her firmly against him when the fingers of his right hand reached hers and tangled them together. He placed open-mouthed kisses against the column of her neck to punctuate his departure from gentle and she groaned, her head tipping back to his shoulder.

 

“I- I need to do this,” she tried, her voice too breathy to hold any weight.

 

He hummed against the curve where her neck met her shoulder, nipping at the skin. “It can wait.”

 

“N-No,” she stuttered, “It c-can’t.”

 

“You don’t sound very convincing,” he mumbled, squeezing her hand in his.

 

Just when he thought he’d won, when she turned in his hold to pull his lips quickly to hers, she pulled away, leaving him feeling suddenly cold. He opened his eyes to see her already sitting in her chair typing away. If he didn’t know her better, he’d say she looked thoroughly unaffected by what just happened, but the tense set of her shoulders gave her away. He groaned, making his way over to stand behind her chair. She tensed even more, sensing his presence before he even leaned over her and braced himself with his hands on the desk on either side of her. Her sharp intake of breath made him grin predatorily.

 

“Oliver, seriously. This system may be the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever seen, but it still requires some manual direction. And I can’t do that if you’re…” She trailed off, waving her hand vaguely in the air.

 

He felt a pang at that and frowned. The _computer system_ was the closest thing to perfect she’d ever seen? What was that- He stopped his thoughts in their tracks. No. He was _not_ going there. Not again. Sure, his strange reaction to her getting the first version of the system a year ago had pushed him to take the step that had changed his life for the better, but that didn’t mean he welcomed its resurgence. Apparently, each new update just made the system better and more awe-inspiring, but that didn’t mean there was a reason for this. They were happily together. In fact, he’d gone out with Digg just the other day to ensure they stayed that way for the rest of their lives.

 

But it had also been a week since they’d been properly alone. She was too busy with the damn computer and investigating the stupid robberies to have time to spare. She wasn’t getting enough sleep, opting instead to stay late into the night before getting up early and heading to the office, so even when she finally left the foundry she was exhausted. Normally, Oliver didn’t mind getting less sleep, but usually the reason for that was far more enjoyable than watching her engrossed in the computer. Every time he tried to convince her to take a break or call it a night, she merely waved him off or pulled out of his reach to return to the computer. The damn thing had her entire attention and it was driving him crazy.

 

“ _Felicity_ ,” he growled, spinning her chair around sharply to face him. Her eyes widened in shock at the sudden movement. “You have been consumed by that computer for a _week_. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were in a relationship with it.”

 

She looked dumbfounded for a second before amusement sparked in her eyes and he felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. She laughed. “Wait a second. Are you… Are you _jealous_ of how much time I spend with my computer?”

 

He straightened immediately and paced away from her. “No.”

 

He wasn’t very convincing, apparently, because her laughter grew even louder. “Oh my God, you are. Oliver Queen is jealous of a computer.”

 

“I am _not_ ,” he snapped, but it came out more petulant than angry. Great.

 

Unable to stomach being laughed at any longer, he headed to the back of the foundry to find something else to do. He was actually pathetic.

 

“Oliver. Oliver, wait!” Her voice called after him, all traces of laughter gone. He ignored her, but her footsteps followed after him and it wasn’t long until he felt her hand on his forearm. “I’m sorry. It’s just… you have to admit, it’s kind of funny. It’s only a computer.”

 

He studiously avoided looking at her, ashamed. This whole thing was utterly ridiculous. He was Oliver Queen, for Christ’s sake.

 

“Hey,” her voice softened and she placed herself between him and the table, her hand coming up to bring his attention to her. “I love you, Oliver.”

 

“I love you, too,” he responded, smiling softly.

 

Her eyes glinted in amusement then, her lips turned up in a grin. “You know, it’s kind of adorable.”

 

He blinked. “Did you just call me… adorable?”

 

She pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. “Maybe.”

 

He surveyed her expression for a moment before leaning toward her in one swift motion, his hand skimming down to grip the back of her thigh to hoist her onto the table. She gasped in surprise at the sudden movement and he watched her eyes darken as he stepped between her parted legs, claiming her lips with his own. The kiss was demanding and insistent. Her arms wound around his neck and her fingers raked through his hair as his right arm wound around her back to pull her flush against him. His left hand ran down her thigh, pulling it up to his hip once he reached the back of her knee. She made a sound of pleasure deep in her throat and let one hand trail down his chest to splay over his abs before running to his back and fisting in his shirt.

 

Far too soon, he pulled back and watched her trying to recover while he did the same. Their breath mingled and her eyes slowly opened, heavy with desire.

 

“Still think I’m adorable?” He asked, voice hoarse.

 

She took a few seconds to breathe and gain control of her thoughts before she shook her head. Her legs dropped and he stepped back, allowing her to slide off the table. She was still trying to regain her focus, breathing shakily. When she finally recovered, she took a step forward and met his eyes.

 

“Let’s go home,” she said, her voice husky. She leaned up to press a softer kiss against his lips. It was deep but slow, neither in a rush anymore. He felt a glow of satisfaction in his stomach until she made a soft noise of discontent and pulled back. She grimaced. “Just… Let me finish this first…”

 

She indicated the computer with an apprehensive glance at him. He groaned in exasperation, his head falling back as she took quick steps over to the desk. “Felicity…”

 

“I swear it will take me five minutes. Ten tops.”

 

He sighed, the sound of her typing already filling the foundry. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he mumbled something about waiting upstairs and headed up to the main floor. Digg was just entering the club when he emerged. The other man shot him a questioning look, picking up on his foul mood.

 

“Still nothing,” he told him by way of explanation.

 

To his surprise, though it shouldn’t have been, Digg chuckled. As they passed each other, he barely heard his muttered, “Never thought I’d see the day…”


End file.
